Lifelong learner and curious forever student that I am, the journey of reading, hearing new information and perspectives, honing skills is endless.
Now that the Autumn Equinox has passed for me in the Northern Hemisphere (happy Spring to the Southern Hemisphere!), I am feeling all the back-to-school and fall feels even though I’m not formally enrolled in any coursework.
Lifelong Learning & Teaching
Anytime I’m not in school, I design my own courses of study, as a teacher and coach for my students and clients, but also to further my spiritual, creative, and entrepreneurial journey.
Take what I’m learning, teaching, and coaching around, as well as personal, creative, and professional life, and at any given moment, that is a lot of information to juggle. Therefore, I am constantly refining my record-keeping, idea-generating, and knowledge containers for easy capture and access.
For a few years since going through _The Artist’s Way_ by Julia Cameron, I’ve been practicing Morning Pages, and the last couple of years, I’ve been doing a version of the BuJo Method by Ryder Carroll, so those form a foundation for my current journaling practice, as well as other tools.
I’m not sponsored by any of the companies mentioned, they are just what I happen to enjoy and currently be using.
This content is also available in audio form in Podcast 093 and further resources are listed below.
Notebooks, Journals, & Tools
- Morning Pages a la “The Artist’s Way” by Julia Cameron: college block, looseleaf, scrap (02:14)
- Daily Field Notes/BuJo: small notebook (Moleskine Cahier or dupe) with leather cover from Liebhardt (gift from my gf, 04:32), this is what I actually have with me almost all the time to capture inspirations, nuggets of ideas and poetry, memories, gratitude, tasks, etc.
- Dance & Yoga Teaching & Choreography Notebook: dot grid “Let’s Travel the World” (gift from a friend, 05:47) for everything to do with my current classes, participants, content covered, music and dance phrases
- Signature Program Binder: tools, resources, inspiration, client notes, etc. (from Five Star 11:12)
- BuJo 2022 Q1-3: Tedi brand “Mein Bullet Journal” with annual focus and quests, future log and planning, monthly and weekly spreads, quarterly reflections, project collections, quotes, rituals, etc. (06:52)
- New BuJo for Q3, Autumn, 2023+: Moleskine Cahier A5 dot grid inside Manufactica saddle leather traveler’s notebook-style cover from Etsy, with handmade folder of paper, stickers, emphemera, and memorabilia for bullet journaling and memory keeping (11:57)
- Honorable mentions: Dry Erase Board for capturing big ideas, mind-maps, and lists, Evernote for archiving, Google Docs for word processing; iterations/drafts processed through system (10:16)
To Each Note, a Fitting Receptacle
Each person’s note-taking, journaling, and creativity system will look dfferently, and I find it so fun and inspiring to take a peek into others’ systems as well as to continue to reevaluate my own practices.
I have noticed a correlation between paper/capture size and media and what sort of idea I’m capturing, and find that different notebooks and spaces for different purposes help me with my flow (09:30).
Related Resources for Further Learning
- Reflective Practice Through Journaling
- Bullet Journaling for Order and Inspiration
- Artful Archiving
- My Creative Morning Ritual
- Learning from Mistakes and Failure
Questions for Reflection
- What notebooks (or idea-capture devices) do you have in current use? For what purposes do you use each?
- Which refinements in your system or supplies are you applying for this season?
- What are your plans for the coming year? 5? 10?
- How do you stay present to and keep track of your values, priorities, and quests?
Glad you joined me for this nerdy voyage through my current notetaking, journaling, and productivity system.
Now is a great time to align our resources and systems that we need around us, to dream and plan, reflect on our processes and results from the year so far, goals for the year ahead, and what we want to take up going forward.
I’ll soon be sharing more about my personal fall “semester” curriculum, within and outside of my comfort zone, as well as the dance, yoga, and coaching content itself, see you again next time!
Blythe Stephens, MFA, Bliss Catalyst
they/them or she/her
Creator of A Blythe Coach: dance through your difficulties
and take leaps of faith into a joyful, fulfilling life